MGL-140 6-shot grenade launcher

Sorry newbie lang ako sa forum na ito. Inquire ko lang kung fielded pa ba yun MGL na mukhang malaking KG9? Haven't seen it again after an old defense exhibit. Masyado bang malakas ang recoil kasi?

Vintage manportable 90mm RCLR and jeep-mounted 106RCLR and the Cockerill 90-armed LAVs proved capable for bunker-busting in the quasi-conventional warfare scenario (eg, 2000 campaign vs MI static camps).

However, there seems to still be need for a PA/PMC truly manportable weapon that can provide anti-infantry explosive effects that extends beyond the capability of single-shot M203. That is, in the more usual engagement with opposing forces on foot. And, at a cost, for both the launcher and the rounds required, that we can deem affordable to deploy in sufficient numbers. (No, we’re still not likely to adopt the RPG.) Enter the…

Milkor MGL-140 6-shot grenade launcher.



- Can fire 6 x 40mm grenade rounds in 3 seconds.

Lay down a barrage in a general area, such concentrated opposing troops or in the direction of that RPG backblast or MG muzzle flash.
Or be able to quickly “walk through” successive rounds onto a target.

As an additional platoon support weapon, can complement squads’ single-shot M203.
Maybe it can even be deployed at squad level (read somewhere as Malaysia has done with their MGLs). Say, replace one of two M203 grenadiers in a squad (operator will have to be issued with a compact carbine or PDW of some kind).

Can also complement the bullet hoses: take out opposing forces pinned down by MG fire, or expose them to MG/rifle fire as they fumble for cover from the barrage.

- Uses low-velocity 40mm grenade rounds of the M203 (and US replacement XM320).
Good ol' M203 rounds, a lot of them. Not pricey rockets, which are probably better suited for bunker-busting as noted previously.

- A poor man's XM25?

Slower to reload (revolver vs. clip-fed) but the same 6 grenade rounds available as in that futuristic US weapon. And it's the MGL140's 40mm vs. XM25's 20mm.

No airburst -- yet.
Israelis are developing airburst tech for their Refaim 40mm grenade rounds, which can be fired both as a rifle grenade or launched from the M203, so if that fire control system can be adapted to the MGL, that’ll also be six airburst shots.

- 13 lbs. empty, 16 lbs. fully loaded; one-man operation
- range: up to 400 meters vs area targets, 150m vs point targets; 30m minimum engagement.
- New MGL-140 improves over older MGL-1 (available since ‘80s)
IR-compatible 3X? optic, Picatinny sight and forearm rails, stainless steel instead of aluminum construction, longer cylinders to be able to use not just present M203 rounds but also future more capable (and longer) rounds, such as being developed for single-shot XM320.
- Used in 20+ countries, combat-proven from the bushlands of South Africa (where it originates) to the jungles of Colombia.

- and of course...cost: $6,000, as cited in (US) Armed Forces Journal site.

Much less than a $13-15T SMAW/Carl-Gustaf.

If we had opted (and maybe still can) for the $2T Ultimax as against the $5T Minimi, instead of just $30T worth of 6 Minimi/M249 SAW to a platoon, we could equip a platoon with 6 Ultimax as SAW and up to 3 MGL-140 for the same price (obviously less if we opt for just 1-2 MGLs).

Useful now in COIN.
And, with future targeting/priming tech developments, could be useful beyond too.

.Defense Review story
.MGL140 on Modern Firearms site
.snippet in AFJ site
.

South Africa's upgraded original version:

MGL M1
Soviet version:

RG 6 with telescopic stock
U.S. version:

MM1 12 shots (claims designed came from police teargas launcher prior WWII)
South Africa's latest model:

MGL 140

Looking at it's simplicity in design, I believe we can make our own.
Project no. 2 for our Danao Gunsmiths.

Hmmm. What happened to that locally made magazine fed MGL that we had back then? The one that looks like a KG-9 on steroids?

40mm MGL is already with Malaysian Armed Forces for quite sometime ago and believe to be looking for another 200 more in the near future

spider,

I've read that somewhere, but can't seem to find it now, that Malaysia has an MGL -- and RPG -- at squad level. Would you know if that's that correct?

Also, any updates on Singapore's SSW? That could be another MGL worth looking at in a few years if it's still under development. (Still debatable whether that integral 4.6/5.7 PDW is a bonus or drawback though.)

spider,

I've read that somewhere, but can't seem to find it now, that Malaysia has an MGL -- and RPG -- at squad level. Would you know if that's that correct?

Also, any updates on Singapore's SSW? That could be another MGL worth looking at in a few years if it's still under development. (Still debatable whether that integral 4.6/5.7 PDW is a bonus or drawback though.)

yes it's confirm, they have both, infact they are buying 200 more MGL and 300 more RPG 7 launcher in the near future. according to the article "weight wise" their soldiers prefer the RPG's then the Carl Gustav. based on their believe at most engagement in their country will only be around 300 metres. so RPG's rather than other heavier equivalent make sense, the best part is it's cheap and idiot proof, it comes in many type of round (including thermobaric) for many type target to choose from and available anywhere including the black market.

I've posted someting here
http://pdff.sytes.net/index.php?showtopic=1931&st=15

for our SSW, i dont know, i've seen it only once at the Asian Aerospace, look like a toy and very light, but im sure it's still an experimental rifle.

Thanks for the info, spider.

Marines in Iraq Get 40mm Six-Shooter

March 15, 2006: Six shot, "revolver" type 40mm grenade launchers have been around for years. But the U.S. military has never adopted them, until now. The U.S. Marine Corps has, after several months of testing, issued these weapons to troops in Iraq.



The MGL-140 40mm, six shot, grenade launcher is now called the M32. This weapon is, literally, a shotgun size revolver that fires standard American 40mm grenades. Thus it has a minimum range of 30 meters, and a maximum range of 400 meters. The weapon is 32 inches long, and weighs 13.2 pounds empty, and 20.3 pounds loaded (40mm rounds weigh about 19 ounces each.) Like any 40mm grenade launcher, it can fire lethal and non-lethal (tear gas, Etc.) rounds, and fire all six of them in a few seconds. The M32 also has a rail for mounting various types of aiming devices (day and night scopes). M32s retail for $6,000 each, but the marines have gotten a volume discount.



Currently, each battalion has one M32, to be used to see how the weapon performs in combat. If user reports are positive, more will be issued. Marines and soldiers have used their single shot, 40mm grenade launchers, a lot in Iraq, and with much success. But the single shot 40mm launchers have been around since the 1960s, and the marines wanted to try something new. Weapons like the MGL-140 have been used by police and military organizations for years.

http://192.156.19.109/marinelink/...

Marines carry six-pack attack
Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200631023356
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva

CAMP MERCURY, Iraq (March 9, 2006) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to want one.

Marines with Regimental Combat Team 5, based in Camp Fallujah, test-fired the latest in the Corps’ arsenal of weapons’ improvement, the M-32 Multiple shot Grenade Launcher. It’s a six-barreled, 40 mm beast of weapon that has just about enough attitude for Marines.

“I thought it was pretty bad the first time I saw it,” said Cpl. Jason H. Flanery, a 23-year-old mortarman from St. Louis, Mo., assigned to RCT-5’s Personnel Security Detachment.

The M-32 MGL looks like something straight out of an action movie or a weapon ginned up by designers of futuristic video combat games. It’s a bare-bones, shoulder-fired weapon with a bulging six-barreled cylinder. There’s no bones about it. This thing’s all business when the trade is knocking out bad-guys at a distance.

“You can put six rounds on target in under three seconds,” Flanery said. “I thought this thing was sick.”

Sick might be right for the insurgent on the other end of the sight. The M-32 MGL is step up from the M-203 grenade launcher Marines have used since post-Vietnam days. It fires similar 40 mm grenades and at similar distances. It just puts more rounds on the bad guys faster.

“The ‘203 has been around since the ‘60s,” explained CWO4 Gene A. Bridgman, the regiment’s gunner, or weapons expert. “It keeps improving. This is a progression in the weapons system.”

Flanery put the comparison of the two similar weapons in more simple terms.

“It makes it obsolete,” he said. “It’s that much better.”

The idea to bring M-32 was the brainchild of Marine gunners across the Corps, explained Bridgman, a 43-year-old from Garden City, Kan. During an annual symposium, they decided an improvement was needed over the M-203. One option was to bring back a rifle-grenade. The M-32, won out, however, and now each Marine battalion will field them as an experimental weapon.

Bridgman added the M-32 isn’t a new idea altogether, though. Brazilian, Italian and South African military have carried them in the field for years. Marines, though, took it one step further.

A fore-grip was added and a scope was mounted to the top, eliminating the old leaf sights like that of the M-203. The scope allows a Marine to follow the grenade to the target and immediately adjust and follow up with a lethal volley of indirect fire.

“The ‘203 was on shot at time,” Bridgman said. “The ‘203 became a signal weapon. This is more of an offensive weapon. With this, you shoot, adjust and fire for effect.”

The average Marine said it’s just about that easy to shoot. Lance Cpl. Alexandro R. Raymundo, a 20-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., isn’t an infantryman. He’s a network administrator by trade. He shot the M-203 before during initial training, but this was his first time picking up the M-32 MGL.

“I thought it might be like the ‘203,” Raymundo said. “But is shoots more rounds, faster. It’s really simple. I had ‘hands-on’ once. I picked it up really quickly.”

As far as how it felt shooting it, Raymundo said the weapon was about as beefy as it looks.

“I felt like there’s more recoil than the ‘203 and the trigger’s a lot heavier” he explained. “It’s heftier than the ‘203.”

His likes about the weapon included the small scope added to the rail-mount system on top of the weapon.

“The optic was nice,” he added. “It’s a lot easier to sight in.”

Of course, there’s the part about lots of things going “boom” downrange too.

“My favorite part was being able to fire out so many grenades and not have to reload between each shot.”

Sgt. David G. Redford, a 35-year-old from Kennebunkport, Me., has more practical experience when it comes to what grunts like in the field. He’s an infantryman by trade and has logged in his own hours carrying the M-203.

“I didn’t know what to think about it before we came out here, but it’s nice,” Redford said. “It’s easier to shoot. You don’t have to constantly load. If you run into something, you’re already loaded.”

Redford predicted that most infantry Marines will welcome the addition of the six-pack attack weapon.

That’s exactly the reaction Bridgman wants to see. Adding the M-32 MGL could realign the way Marines operate at the small-team level. Fire teams could become more lethal, more mobile and more independent. The idea of a dedicated grenadier might just be reborn.

“Now you have your own indirect fire support right in the fire team,” Bridgman explained. “You have someone who can lay down (high explosive rounds) against someone in a trench. It would be used against enemy in fighting holes or behind cars, because of the indirect nature of the weapon. It’s the only weapon aside from mortars,” at the small team’s disposal.

Still, Bridgman stressed the weapon is only experimental. Marines will be gathering data about its’ effectiveness and durability from experiences on the streets of Fallujah.

For Flanery, though, the M-32 is already welcome.

“I think it’s one of the most simple and effective weapons systems,” he said. “I just want buckshot rounds.”

It looks like a good replacement weapon for squad grenadiers. One of the two grenadiers should have one M32.

We should buy it outside instead of having it manufactured here though. If that will be manufactured in danao, no doubt the leftist and civilian/political armies and wannabies will buy too.

Well, even though we don't manufacture it here, Danao are making copycats of the ingram, pistols and revolvers. Rebels are making their own RPGs and Grenade launchers. If some of our forces starts getting the original issue, for sure it will be copied by our gunsmiths.

That M32 may be a bit too heavy to carry in long range patrols but once the shooting starts, our soldiers would have a great advantage in the encounters. Maybe the PNP outpost in far-flung areas should have one of these since they are the favorite targets of the NPAs for their "agaw-armas" operations.

Since the NPAs usually attack in overwhelming odds against an Army/Police outpost, the M32 will definitely provide the needed firepower and deter the attackers from gaining the upper hand in the initial volley alone.

Even just the MGL M1 model being used by the Malaysians will do (lower cost?). Looking at the difference between the 2, the M32 seems to be upgraded with add-ons that can be done by our troops.